University of Tennessee agrees to accept mis-administered ACT tests

Mayor Tim Burchett held a press conference with parents and Bearden High School students to call out ACT for refusing to release Bearden High School students' test scores.

The Tennessee Department of Education released standardized test score results for all districts. Williamson County and the Franklin Special School District did well, showing gains over last year’s scores.
(Photo:
Jae S. Lee / File / The Tennessean
)

The University of Tennessee has agreed to accept the scores of ACT tests that were mis-administered at Bearden High School and Alvin C. York Institute in Jamestown, Tenn. on Oct. 17.

"A bureaucratic error should not stand in the way of these young people's future,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said in a news release. "Once the situation is explained, I cannot imagine any institution of learning refusing to accept these scores as legitimate."

Bearden students were given the Oct. 3 version of the ACT on Oct. 17.

ACT's records indicated the wrong test was sent to the school because school officials "inadvertently left their test date as the default of Oct. 3 in the ACT electronic ordering system," Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman Sara Gast has said.

ACT declined to certify the scores, prompting protests among parents and students and drawing criticisms from politicians such as McNally and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett.

“The ACT simply needs to explain the situation, release the scores and let colleges and universities make their own determination as to their value," McNally said in the news release.

"Their refusal to release the scores has turned the college admissions process into a hostage situation. The ACT needs to release these scores and let our young adults have the fighting chance at the scholarships, financial aid and college acceptance they have worked for.”